Popcorn Peacemaking is a peaceCENTER program that uses popular

Popcorn Peacemaking is a
peaceCENTER program that uses
popular, readily available videos to
explore the history and principles
of peace and justice.
Each study guide for the series consists of a brief
historical or contextual overview, an explanation
of why the film was selected, recommended
excerpts for showing and several suggested
discussion questions.
We have tried to select videos that are suitable
for all audiences. However, one of the contradictions
of nonviolence is that it is often practiced
in violent situations. Many of the videos have an
R Rating. In all cases, the teacher or discussion
leader should watch the entire film and decide
on its suitability for the intended audience.
If time permits, it is ideal to show the entire
film to the group. However, given that most
videos are at least two hours long and time is
needed for reflection and discussion, the
peaceCENTER has selected excerpts from the
videos. When time is short, these excerpts can be
shown in lieu of airing the entire video and the
whole film can be shown at a more convenient
time, or participants can be encouraged to
borrow, rent or buy the video for later viewing
with family or friends. The times of the excerpts
are approximate. If there is only time to show
one excerpt the “best choice” is usually marked
with an eyeglass icon �
If the entire film is not shown to the group, the
discussion leader should introduce the clip with
a few sentences that put it in context.
In addition to the specific discussion questions,
there is also a general question and answer
format for discussing movies.
Most of these films can be rented from video
rental stores, or can be checked out of the local
library. Most of the videos are available for
check out from the Arun and Sunanda Gandhi Peace
and Justice Resource Center (call 210/224-HOPE
to arrange for pickup) and many can be purchased
at the peaceCENTER online bookstore, in association
with Amazon.com (www.salsa.net/peace/
amazon).
This project will be under constant development,
so if you have any suggestions, please forward
them to the peaceCENTER at the address below.
E-Mail comments and suggestions can be sent to
suives@texas.net.
Focused on a mission of God’s Peace, the peaceCENTER supports
the learning of peace in our lives
and the demonstration of peace within our community.
For more information: peaceCENTER, 1443 S. St. Mary’s, San Antonio, TX 78210
(210) 224-HOPE www.salsa.net/peace

This format was developed in
order to “spiral” a conversation
down to a deeper level and to
explore what a movie might have
to say to us as individuals and as a
society.
The format begins with questions
that everybody can answer - the
facilitator should make sure that
everyone gets at least one
response in at the objective level,
this makes it easier for participants
to choose to participate at the
“harder” question levels.
All of the questions listed are
suggestions - once you get the idea
of the kind of question that
belongs in each category you can
make up your own. Ask questions
only for as long as you want that
part of the conversation to last -
you don’t have to ask all the
questions!
It is suggested that the facilitator
watch the movie first, walk
through the process/sample
questions and then create your list
of possible questions for each
level.
When facilitating the
conversation, when you feel like
the group is ready to move on to a
deeper level in the conversation
you ask a deeper question and
skip the rest of the questions you
have at that level.
Popcorn Peacemaking
Question Format for Movie Conversations
Objective
(What do you remember?)
What words do you
remember, sounds, music...?
What scene is still playing in
your head?
Who were the main
characters - their names/
relationships?
Reflective
(What happened?)
Were you surprised at
anything the characters said,
did...?
At what point did the
audience/you laugh? Why?
Did you find yourself
looking around to see if anyone
was crying? When?
How did this movie make
you feel? Frustrated, angry,
elated... Why?
Interpretive
(What was this movie all about?)
What was the creator of the
movie trying to say? or What did
the movie say?
Is there a bigger story behind
the movie?
Why do you think the creator
made the movie?
What questions were raised
for you?
What social/political/
psychological statement was
made?
Have you seen anything like
this happen in your life?
Decisional
(What relevance does this movie
have to my life?)
Who did you identify with?
Why?
Is it relevant/true/happening
today? Why..?
Is this an issue that you,
personally, would like to see
something done about? What
could be done?
Has the issue been addressed
in other places or times?
If you were going to begin to
exert your influence to change
things, what would you do? What
could you do?
For more information: peaceCENTER, 1443 S. St. Mary’s, San Antonio, TX 78210
(210) 224-HOPE www.salsa.net/peace/popcorn

Books
�Saint Paul at the Movies: The
Apostle's Dialog with American
Culture by Robert Jewett,
Westminster, 1993
A Christian context of 11
movies of the ’80s, offering a
fresh look at both the movies
and New Testament theology.
�Finding Meaning at the
Movies, by Sara Anson Vaux,
Abingdon, 1999
Thoughtful commentary on a
number of popular and awardwinning
films is refreshing in its
heavy emphasis on “values”
and critical “issues”
�Lights Camera .. Faith! A
Movie Lectionary - Cycle A, by
Peter Malone and Rose
Pacatte, Pauline Books and
Media, 2001
Explores 72 films in the light of
Christian scripture.
Reel Spirituality : Theology and
Film in Dialogue by Robert K.
Johnston, Baker Book House,
2000
Guide Christian moviegoers
into a theological analysis of
and conversation with film
Praying the Movies: Daily
Meditations from Classic Films,
by Ed McNulty, Geneva Press,
2001
31 devotions that connect
movies with the spiritual life of
movie goers.
Web Sites
www.signis.net
The international Catholic association
for communications
includes current jury prizes for
film festivals and reviews.
www.pauline.com/mediastudies
Media literacy in faith
communities, includes some indepth
movie reviews and links,
sponsored by the Daughters of
St. Paul.
www.HollywoodJesus.com
This ecumenical web site is
dedicated to finding Christian
spirituality in movies with
searchable archive
http://www.catholic.org.au
Four film reviews a month from
the Australian Conference of
Catholic Bishops.
www.chiafilm.com
This site is named for
Chiaroscuro, the interplay of
light and shade in an image
and seeks to move beyond the
culture wars and encourage a
conversation between the
cinema and Christian
spirituality. Contains new
reviews, retrospectives and
essays.
www.beliefnet.com
Comparative religion
community, includes movie
reviews
www.cityofangelsfilmfest.org
Inter-faith film festival site with
reviews, resources and events
www.geocities.com/~polfilms/
The Political Film Society
recognizes outstanding
achievement in raising political
consciousness about democracy,
exposé, human rights, and
peace. Lots of reviews.
www.spiritualityhealth.com
Fred and Mary Brussat offer an
e-course, “Going to the Movies
as a Spiritual Practice” as well
as current film and video
reviews with searchable
database
www.FilmClipsOnLine.com
“Is there a place for popular
culture in thoughtful and sacred
spaces?” Hollywood filmmaker
Michael Rhodes and industry
colleagues and educators offer
clips from popular films to use
in educational settings.
www.christianitytoday.com/
ctmag/features/columns/
filmforum.html
Christian film reviews that
integrate and analyze
commentaries from several
sources, both religious and
from the mainstream press
www.unomaha.edu/~wwwjrf/
Articles and reviews by the
Journal of Religion and Film,
University of Nebraska at
Omaha
www.christiancritic.com
The Christian critic’s movie
parables.
www.textweek.com
Sermon helps with a movie
concordance for the Catholic
and Anglican lectionaries
www.udayton.edu/mary/
This site features the videos on
Mary and Marian subjects
archived by the University of
Dayton’s Marian Library/
International Marian Research
Institute.
www.bravo.ca/
scanningthemovies
Canada’s BRAVO! Channel
presents a media education
perspective based on the
television program, “Scanning
the Movies”, hosted by Neil
Anderson and Father John
Pungente, S.J, with study
guides.
www.IMDb.org
The Internet Movie Databases
is the largest movie archive on
the web and includes industry
information and a multitude of
links to sources and reviews.
www.suntimes.com/index/
ebert.html
Movie critic Roger Ebert’s
current film reviews since 1985.

�1969 (1988) (R)
The death of a young man is the catalyst needed to
bridge the gap between father and son and enlighten
them both to the true cost of war.
�1984 (1984) (R)
George Orwell's novel of a totalitarian future society
in which a man whose daily work is rewriting history
tries to rebel by falling in love. With Richard Burton
�4 Little Girls (1997) (NR)
Recounts the people and events leading up to the one
of the most despicable hate-crimes during the height of
the civil-rights movement, the bombing of the 16th
Street Church in Birmingham, Alabama. Spike Lee.
�Absolution (1978) (R)
Richard Burton plays a priest in a British Catholic
school who goes mad when he cannot report a murder
he learned about in confession. Weird movie.
�Alamo Bay (1985) (R)
A despondent Vietnam veteran in danger of losing his
livelihood is pushed to the edge when he sees
Vietnamese immigrants moving into the fishing
industry in a Texas bay town. .
All Quiet on the Western Front (1930, 1979)
A young German soldier faces profound
disillusionment in the soul-destroying horror of World
War I.
� Amadeus (1984) (PG)
The incredible story of Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart,
told in flashback mode by Antonio Salieri - now
confined to an insane asylum.
�☺Amazing Grace and Chuck (1987)
After taking a tour of a nuclear silo, Chuck decides to
quit playing little league until nuclear weapons are
disarmed.
� Amelie (2001) (R)
A single waitress who decides to help other lonely
people fix their lives.French, with subtitles.
� American History X (1998) (R)
A former neo-nazi skinhead tries to prevent his
younger brother from going down the same wrong
path that he did.
Popcorn Peacemaking
Films
�In the Peace and Justice Library
�Study Guide Available
☺Especially suitable for young children
� American Beauty (1999) (R)
Chronicles the last year in the life of 42 year-old hack
magazine writer , a suburban loser that has had it with
his humdrum life and decides to make a few changes
to regain control.
American Me (1992) (R)
Gang Violence in Los Angeles.
� Angel and the Badman (1947)
A wounded gunslinger is nursed by a Quaker family
When he falls in love with their daughter he has to
decide whether to forsake his violent life. John
Wayne.
� Amistad (1997)
Fact-based story of the 1839 revolt by Africans on the
slave ship Amistad and their subsequent trial when
they are taken on American soil.
� And Justice for All (1979) (R)
A satirical drama that looks at our judicial system.
� Animal Farm (1955 and 1999)
George Orwell's classic satire on Stalinism, with the
animals taking over their farm by means of a
revolutionary coup, but then discovering that
although all animals are supposed to be equal, some
are more equal than others. Animated, but not for
young children.
� The Apostle (1997)
A womanizing Pentecostal minister who is forced to
leave his Texas home (and church) after committing a
violent act. Fascinating study of a wayward man's
journey to understand his life, and the many people
who help him find his way.
� Apt Pupil (1998) (R)
A bright schoolboy discovers a wanted Nazi war
criminal is living in his town and blackmails him into
telling stories ("everything they're afraid to show us in
school") of the horrors of the Holocaust.
At Play in the Fields of the Lord (1991)
Missionaries travel to the Brazilian rain forest and
make a mess of everything.
� Au revoir les enfants (1987)
A French boarding school run by priests seems to be a
haven from World War II until a new student arrives.

Autobiography of Miss Jane Pittman (1974)
Story of a black woman in the South who was born
into slavery in the 1850s and lives to become a part of
the civil rights movement in the 1960s.
�☺ Babe (1995)
Babe is a little pig who doesn't quite know his place in
the world and learns that a pig can be anything that
he wants to be.
�☺ Babe: Pig in the City (1998)
Sequel - Babe in the big city.
Babette’s Feast (1987)
Babette prepares the feast of a lifetime for the
members of a tiny Danish Protestant church.
� ☺The Basket (1999) (PG)
A Pacific Northwest community raising its wheat and
children in the midst of a nation reeling from World
War I
� ☺Beauty and the Beast (1983) (NR)
Beauty discovers that ugliness can disguise grerat
goodness. Faerie Tale Theater.
� Behind the Lines (1998) (R)
Based on true events, a pioneering psychiatrist works
with shell-shocked WWI soldiers in a gentle, humane
manner that contrasts sharply with the brutality of his
colleagues.
� Being Human (1994) (PG-13)
Robin Williams stars in five stories, each one taking
place during a different historical period. He's either
losing or looking for his family.
� Beloved (1998)
Life of Sethe, a former slave who has rebuilt what
seems to be a peaceful, productive life in Ohio.
� Billy Elliott (2000)
A talented young boy becomes torn between his
unexpected love of dance and the disintegration of
his family.
� Bonhoeffer: Agent of Grace (2000)
About the struggles and martyrdom of a Lutheran
pastor during WWII.
� Birth of a Nation (1915) (NR)
The consequences of the War in the lives of two
brothers are shown in connection to major historical
events, like the development of the Civil War itself,
Lincoln's assassination, and the birth of the Ku Klux
Klan. A silent movie classic, crippled by racism of the
time.
� Born on the Fourth of July (1989)
The biography of Ron Kovic. Paralyzed in the Vietnam
war, he becomes an anti-war and pro-human rights
political activist after feeling betrayed by the country
he fought
Bound for Glory (1975)
Biography of legendary folk singer Woody Guthrie,
the Depression-era vagabond whose working class
music affected generations.
Brazil (1985) (R)
An unrelentingly imaginative and savage vision of
20th-century bureaucracy.
� Bright Shning Lie (1998) (R)
Based on Neil Sheehan's controversial book about the
making of the Vietnam war.
� Brother Sun, Sister Moon (1973)
Story of St. Francis of Assisi.
�☺A Bug’s Life (1998)
A misfit ant, looking for warriors to save his colony
from grasshoppers, recruits a group of bugs that turn
out to be an inept circus troupe.
� The Burning Season (1994) (R)
Activist Chico Mendes is murdered while fighting to
protect his people in the Amazon rain forest.
Chariots of Fire (1981)
Two British track athletes, one a determined Jew, and
the other a devout Christian, compete in the 1924
Olympics.
�☺Charlotte’s Web (1973) (G)
This animated feature based on the popular E.B. White
book for children—about the special relationships
between Wilbur the pig, Charlotte the spider, and
Templeton the rat—is a straight adaptation from the
page, with songs added.
�☺Chicken Run (2000)
Our plucky heroines face a lifetime of hard labor laying
for the farmers, and if their performance is not up to
par they quite literally face the chop. Ginger, making
her way to the top of the pecking order attempts
jailbreak after farcical jailbreak, but success is less
than forthcoming.
� Children of a Lesser God (1986) (R)
A deaf and a hearing world trying to survive after they
join in love.
Children of Heaven (1997)
Two poor Iranian children share a pair of shoes.
� Chinatown (1974) (R)
L. A private eye led into a complex, volatile case by
femme fatale, but also has an interesting side plot
about water rights.
� Children of Rage(1977) (PG)
A Palestinian family torn apart by the Middle East
conflict
� Chocolat (2001)
1960, small town France. a woman and her daughter
move into town and open a chocolate shop just as
Lent is beginning.

� The Christmas Coal Mine Miracle (1977) (NR)
Tragedy strikes a small mining community one fateful
Christmas Eve in 1951 when a series of explosions
strike a mine notorious for its unsafe conditions.
� City of Joy (1992)
An American surgeon loses a young patient, quits the
medical profession and goes to India to find himself.
� Close Encounters of the Third Kind (1977) (PG)
A line worker, after a encounter with UFO's, feels
undeniably drawn to an isolated area in the wilderness
where something spectacular is about to happen.
� The Color of Courage (1999)
1940's Sipes v. McGhee trial - the case which considered
the question of the legality of restrictive deed
covenants which created segregated neighborhoods
and kept blacks out of all white neighborhoods.
The Color of Paradise (1981)
A father is estranged from his son, a student at
Tehran’s Institute for the Blind.
� Commandments (1997) (R)
Aidan Quinn plays a man so aggrieved by his misfortunes
that he vows to break each of God's Ten
Commandments in revenge. But even that act of
profound defiance doesn't quite work out the way he
planned, and the character undergoes a mythic--some
would say biblical--experience of a different kind.
� Crimes and Misdemeanors(1989)
A provocative and unsettling study of divergent
moralities and the price we're willing to pay to preserve
our personal comfort and happiness.
� Crisis at Central High (1981)
Events surrounding the 1957 integration of Central
High School in Little Rock, Arkansas.
� The Crucible (1996) (PG-13)
An adaption of the famous play concerning the Salem
witch trials.
� �Cry Freedom (1987)
A white newspaper editor befriends South African
Black political activist Steve Biko.
� Cry, the Beloved Country (1995)
The lives of a black, country priest and a white
wealthy landowner in South Africa in the 1940's.
Themes of religion, politics, faith, healing, mercy and
justice.
� Dance With the White Dog (1993) (PG)
When Sam Peek's beloved wife, Cora, dies, a white
dog suddenly materializes as his new companion and
confidant. Sam takes the dog on a nostalgic journey
which dramatizes the fulfillment he shared with his
departed wife.
� Dances with Wolves (1990)
About an idealistic young Civil War soldier who
makes friends with a Sioux Indian tribe and, becomes
one of them.
� Dead Poets Society (1989)
Robin Williams is a charismatic English teacher at a
staid New England prep school in 1959, whose
infectious love of poetry--and insistence that each
boy ``seize the day'' and make the most of lifeinspires
his impressionable students, not always in
the right direction.
� Dead Man Walking (R) (1995)
Based on the book by Sr. Helen Prejean, examines the
issue of capital punishment from a humanitarian
perspective, and urges thoughtful reflection on the
justifications for legally ending a human life.
� Death and the Maiden (R) (1994)
A political activist is convinced that her guest is a
man who once tortured her.
Diary of Ann Frank (1959)
Harrowing story of a young Jewish girl who, with her
family and their friends is forced into hiding in an attic
in Nazi-occupied Amsterdam.
�☺ Digging to China (1998)
A small girl befriends a retarded man.
� Divided We Fall (2000) (PG-13)
Czech with English Subtitles. Captures the pervasive
suspicion and betrayal of World War II through the
unexpected guise of situation comedy.
� Do the Right Thing (1989) (R)
On a hot day on a New York City street, everyone’s
hate and bigotry smoulders and builds until it explodes
into violence.
� Don Quixote (2000)
The classic tale of a man's dream, his epic journey, and
one true love.
� Down Came a Blackbird (1995)
A journalist struggling to regain control of her life a
year after she was abducted and tortured in Central
America. She goes to a clinic for survivors of torture,
where she reflects on her experiences and learns about
others who have suffered similar experiences.
A Dry White Season (1989) (R)
When his gardener’s son is brutally beaten by the
police at a demonstration by black school children, a
schoolteacher in South Africa begins to realize his
society is built on a pillar of injustice and exploitation.
� Dr. Strangelove (1964)
At the height of the cold war, a black comedy about
the arms race and nuclear holocaust.

� Entertaining Angels - The Dorothy Day Story (1996)
Dorothy Day's spiritual evolution from a journalist
and suffragette in Greenwich Village to her conversion
to Roman Catholicism and her devotion to helping the
poor.
��Erin Brockovich (2000) (R)
An unemployed single mother becomes a legal
assistant and almost single-handedly brings down a
California power company accused of polluting a
city's water supply.
E.T. (1982)
A group of Earth children help a stranded alien
botanist return home
�Eva Peron (1996) (R)
An Argentinian-made film of the life of Eva Peron.
�Evita (1996) (R)
A musical telling of the life of Argentian actress and
kingmaker, Eva Peron. Starring Madonna.
Fahrenheit 451 (1966)
Based on the 1951 Ray Bradbury novel, a firefighter
lives in a lonely, isolated society where books have
been outlawed by a government fearing an
independent-thinking public.
�A Farewell to Arms (1932)
Hemingway’s WWI love story also analyses Lt.
Henry's feelings on war and the purpose of fighting.
�Fat Man and Little Boy (1989) (PG-13)
History of the Manhattan Project, the atomic testing
project that led to the U.S. bombing of Japan during
World War II.
�Field of Dreams (1989)
An Iowa corn farmer, hearing voices, interprets them
as a command to build a baseball diamond in his fields;
he does, and the Chicago Black Sox come.
�Fire on the Amazon (1993) (R)
Struggle among ranchers, rubber tappers and loggers
for the fate of the Amazon.
�The Fisher King (1991) (R)
A radio DJ, suicidally despondent because of a
horrible mistake he made, finds redemption in helping
a deranged homeless man who was a victim of it.
�☺Fly Away Home (1996)
A father and daughter decide to attempt to lead a
flock of orphaned Canada Geese south by air.
� Forrest Gump (1994)
Unlikely story of a slow-witted but good-hearted man
somehow at the center of the pivotal events of the
20th century.
�☺Freedom Song (2000)
A fictionalized account of the civil rights movement.
� �Gandhi (1982)
Best Picture, Best Director, and Best Actor Oscars.
Sweeping account of the life and times of Mohandas
K. Gandhi.
� Gentleman’s Agreement (1947)
A reporter pretends to be Jewish in order to cover a
story on anti-Semitism, and personally discovers the
true depths of bigotry and hatred.
� Ghosts of Mississippi (1996) (PG-13)
Alec Baldwin stars as a lawyer in this true story of the
re-trial of the murderer of civil rights leader Medgar
Evers.
� Girl, Interrupted (2000) (R)
A young women is involuntarily committed to a
mental institution in 1967 and deciudes that the
inmates are saner than the war-torn world outside..
� The Glass Menagerie (1987) (PG)
A son longs to escape from his stifling home, where
his genteel mother worries about the future prospects
of his lame, shy sister.
The God’s Must be Crazy (1980)
A bushman in the Kalahari encounters technology for
the first time - in the shape of a Coke bottle.
� ☺The Goodbye Bird (1993)
Boy accused of stealing a parrot ends up starting an
animal shelter.
� Gorllas in the Mist (1988) (PG-13)
The story of Dian Fossey, a scientist who came to
Africa to study the vanishing mountain gorillas, and
later fought to protect them.
� The Grapes of Wrath (1940) (NR)
A poor mid-west family are forced off their land and travel
to California, suffering the misfortunes of the homeless in
the Great Depression.
� The Greatest Story Ever Told (1965) (NR)
The life of Jesus Christ
� The Green Mile (1999)
The story about the lives of guards on death row
leading up to the execution of a wrongly accused man
who has the power of faith healing.
� Harlan County War (1982)
A Kentucky woman whose mine-worker husband is
nearly killed in a cave-in, and whose father is slowly
dying of black lung disease, joins the picket lines for
a long, violent strike.
�☺ Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone (2001) (PG)
Rescued from the outrageous neglect of his aunt and
uncle, a young boy with a great destiny proves his
worth while attending Hogwarts School of Witchcraft
and Wizardry

�☺ Harvest of Fire (1982)
A female FBI agent comes to a distrustful Amish
community to investigate a multiple building arson
incident.
� Heat Wave (R) (1990)
An African-American messenger working for the LA.
Times plays a key role in winning the newspaper a
Pulitzer Prize for its coverage of the 1965 Watts riots.
� The Hiding Place (1975)
Corrie Ten Boom, a middle-aged Dutch watchmaker's
daughter, became a heroine of the Resistance and aids
Jews in WWII.
� The Horse Whisperer (1998)
The mother of a severely traumatized daughter enlists
the aid of a unique horse trainer to help the girl's
equally injured horse.
� The Hurricane (1999)
The story of Rubin "Hurricane" Carter, a boxer
wrongly imprisoned for murder, and the people who
aided in his fight to prove his innocence.
� I Am Sam (2001) (PG-13)
A mentally retarded man fights for custody of his 7year-old
daughter, and in the process teaches his
cold-hearted lawyer the value of love and family.
I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings (1979)
Based on writer Maya Angelou's childhood, this story
is about a young girl in the South who is sent to live
with her grandmother after her parents divorce.
� I Will Fight No More Forever (1975)
A chronicle of the war between the United States
Army and the Nez Perce, Chief Joseph.
� In the Name of the Father (1993) (R)
Man’s coerced confession to an IRA bombing he
didn’t do imprisons his father as well; a British lawyer
helps fight for their freedom.
� In the Presence of Mine Enemies (1996)
A Rabbi in the Warsaw Ghetto in Poland in 1942 fights
to maintain his stance of peace and acceptance of his
fellow man despite the growing turmoil and atrocities
created by the Nazis.
� In This House of Brede (1975) (NR)
A well-to-do London businesswoman (Diana Rigg)
gives up her comfortable life to become a cloistered
Benedictine nun. Based on the Rumor Godden novel.
�☺ Indian in the Cupboard (1995)
A sensitive boy discovers a way to bring plastic toys
to life in a locked cupboard.
� Inherit the Wind (1960, 1999)
Based on a real-life case in 1925, two great lawyers
argue the case for and against a science teacher
accused of the crime of teaching evolution.
�☺ The Iron Giant (1999)
A boy makes friends with an innocent alien giant
robot that a paranoid government agent wants to
destroy.
� It’s the Rage (1999)
Handguns figure in the intertwining lives of nine
people.
�Jakob the Liar (1999)
Without ever really owning a radio, Jakob begins to
falsely create stories to please the ghetto. By doing
this, Jakob lifts the morale of the ghetto but also
places the entire population in danger from the
German army.
Jesus of Montreal (1990)
A group of actors put on an unorthodox Passion Play
which incites the opposition of the Catholic Church
while the actors' lives themselves begin to mirror the
Passion itself.
Jesus’ Son (1999)
A young man turns from drug addiction and petty
crime to a life redeemed by a discovery of
compassion.
� Joan of Arc (1948, 1999)
A young girl receives a vision that drives her to rid
France of its oppressors.
� John Q (2002) (PG-13)
A down-on-his luck father, whose insurance won't
cover his son's heart transplant, takes the hospital's
emergency room hostage until the doctors agree to
perform the operation.
� Jonah, Who will be 25 in the Year 2000 (1976)
Literate, engaging comedy about eight individuals
affected by the political events of the late '60s in
France.
� �Judgment at Nuremberg (1961)
American judges try Nazi war criminals.
� To Kill a Mockingbird (1962)
Powerfully resonant film in its advocacy of tolerance,
justice, integrity, and loving, responsible parenthood.
� Kundun (1997)
True story of the 14th Dalai Lama and his exile from
Tibet. About how to be nonviolent when your culture
celebrates violence.
� The Killing Fields (1984) (R)
New York Times journalist convering the tragedy and
madness of the civil war in Cambodia with a local
representative.

� Lakota Woman: Siege at Wounded Knee (1994) (NR)
The daughter of a desperately poor Indian family in
South Dakota is swept up in the protests of the 1960s
and becomes sensitized to the injustices that society
inflicts on her people. Based on autobiography.
The Last Temptation of Christ (1988) (R)
At his execution, Jesus is tempted by an alluring
image of a peaceful and pleasant life with Mary
Magdelene to try to get him to refuse the sacrifice he
must make.
� Lean on Me (1989)
The story of “Crazy Joe” Clark, the real-life baseball
bat, bullhorn toting high school principal from New
Jersey who whips his students into shape by bolstering
and bullying them.
� Le Chambon: La Colline Aux Mille Enfants (1997)
Based on the true story of a French village, which
under the guidance of its Protestant pastor saved
more than 5,000 Jewish children from the Nazis.
� The Legend of Bagger Vance (2000) (PG-13)
A down-and-out golfer attempts to recover his game
and his life with help from a mystical caddy.
� Life is Beuatiful (1998)
A Jew in a concentration camp in Italy stages an
elaborate ruse to shield his young son from the
horror.
A Lesson Before Dying (1999)
Young black man in 1948 executed for murder, based
on award-winning novel.
� Liam (2000) (R)
A morality tale of xenophobia, religious prejudice,
mob violence, poverty, and their effect on two
children in Liverpool during the Depression.
� Little Buddha (1993) (PG)
A Tibetan monk hears that an American boy may be
the reincarnation of an important lama, Siddhartha, the
Indian prince who renounced worldly pleasures and
religious extremism to find the Middle Way of
Buddhist truth.
� Local Hero (1983)
An American oil company sends a man to Scotland to
buy up an entire village where they want to build a
refinery.
� The Long Walk Home (1991)
A story set against the backdrop of the emerging civil
rights movement and the Montgomery Bus Boycott of
the 1950s South.
� Losing Isaiah (1995) (R)
Halle Berry is a crack user who abandons her baby
then wants him back.
� Magnolia (1999) (R)
A mosaic of misery, with an array of charactersranging
from a dying man and his angelic male nurse
to a precocious kid pressured to perform on a TV
game show-who must deal with anger, guilt, isolation,
the sins of the fathers, and ultimately, forgiveness, on
an almost Biblical level.
� Malcolm X (1992)
Faithful and moving adaptation of the Autobiography
of Malcolm X.
� Mama Flora’s Family (1998)
Based on a story by Alex Haley, traces the story of an
African-American family from 1900 to the present.
A Man for All Seasons (1966) (NR)
Standoff between King Henry VIII and Sir Thomas
More about morals vs. practicality.
� Mandela and DeKlerk (1997) (PG-13)
Mandela's 30-year odessey from opponent of
apartheid to president of South Africa. Sidney Poitier
as Mandela; Michael Caine as DeKlerk.
� A Map of the World (1999)
After an accident on her property involving a friend's
child, the town turns against her and Alice finds
herself fighting charges of child abuse.
� Master Harold and the Boys (1985) (PG-13)
Based on the play by Athol Fugard, set in 1950 South
Africa a young man turns vicious towards two family
servants.
Matewan (1987)
A labor union organizer comes to an embattled mining
community brutally and violently dominated and
harassed by the mining company.
� The Matrix (1999)
A computer hacker learns from mysterious rebels
about the true nature of his reality and his role in the
war against the controllers of it.
� A Merry War (1997)
aka “Keep the Aspidistra Flying,” based on the essay
by George Orwell. Comedy-satire about an advertising
man who is captivated by the concept of offering his
life to ``art. '
The Message (1988)
Also called “Mohammed, Messenger of God,” about
the birth of Islam.
� Michael Collins (1996) (R)
Controversial biography of IRA leader Michael Collins
� Messenger: The Story of Joan of Arc (1999) (R)
A young girl receives a vision that drives her to rid
France of its oppressors. Milla Jovovich as Joan,
directed by Luc Besson

� Midnight Express (1978) (R)
True story of a man who is caught smuggling drugs
out of Turkey and thrown into a barbaric prison.
� The Milagro Beanfield War (1988) (R)
Rural New Mexico community organizes to fight a
ruthless and corrupt developer.
� The Miracle (1959) (NR)
During the war of 1812, a young nun leaves the
convent to search for a series of romantic adventures,
and during her journey the statue of the virgin Mary
descends from the pedestal and takes the young
nun's place until her return.
� The Miracle Worker (1962) (NR)
The story of Anne Sullivan's struggle to teach the
blind and deaf Helen Keller how to communicate.
�☺ Miracle at Midnight (1998)
A Danish family are front-runners in a clandestine
operation to transport over 7,000 Jews to neutral
Sweden, while averting Nazi arrest.
� Les Misérables (1998)
A thief, redeemed by the power of love and
forgiveness, has his past life exposed. With Liam
Neeson.
� The Mission (1986)
About two Jesuit missionaries in 18th Century Brazil,
western imperialism and conflicting styles in striving
for noble goals.
�� Mississippi Burning (R) (1988)
Fictionalized account of a the murder of three young
civil rights workers who were part of a 1964 voter
registration drive in Mississippi.
� Miss Evers’ Boys (1997)
Program designed to treat syphilis among blacks in
the South was twisted into an inhuman study.
� The Molly McGuires (1970)
In 1876 in Pennsylvania, a secret group of Irish
emigrant miners, fights against the cruelty of the
mining company with sabotage and murder.
� Moulin Rouge (2001) (PG-13)
A poet falls for a beautiful courtesan whom a jealous
duke covets
� Mr. Holland’s Opus (1996)
A musician grudgingly takes a job as a high school
music teacher and is slow to recognize the impact he
has on those around him.
� Murder in the First (1995) (R)
Inspired by a true story. A petty criminal sent to
Alcatraz in the 1930s and put in solitary confinement.
years, only to emerge a madman and soon to be a
murderer. A rookie lawyer attempts to prove that
Alcatraz was to blame.
� Music of the Heart (1999)
Biopic about Roberta Guaspari, a divorced mother of
two who created an acclaimed music program in East
Harlem's troubled school system.
� My Family (Mi Familia) (1995) (R)
Account of one family's struggle to stay together
and survive the mean streets of East Los Angeles.
� My Own Country (1998) (R)
An East Indian doctor settles in Johnson City,
Tennessee. and takes AIDS as his personal crusade..
� My Son the Fanatic (1997) (R)
A taxi driver can't understand why his son has turned
to Muslim fundamentalism, calling the Western world
of their corner of London corrupt and driven by sex.
Native Son (1986)
A Black Chauffeur kills a white woman when he fears
the consequences of being caught alone in a room
with her.
� Nazarin (1958)
Nazarin is a priest, attempting to living a pure and
honest life strictly according to Christian principles -
but others only show him distrust. Directed by Luis
Buñuel. Spanish with English subtitles.
� Nixon (1995) (R)
The story of Richard M. Nixon, former president of the
United States whose presidency ended in disgrace.
�☺ No More Baths (1998)
Children use nonviolent protest to keep an old man
from being evicted to make room for an upscale
housing development.
� Noriega: God’s Favorite (2000)
Account of the streetwise thug who brutalized his
countrymen as the military ruler of Panama in the
1980s.
Norma Rae (1979)
A young single mother agrees to help unionize her
textile mill.
� Nuremberg (2000)
Trial of Nazi war criminals following the Allied victory
in Europe in World War II.
� O Brother, Where Art Thou? (1992)
Nicks the plot line of Homer’s Odyssey for a comic
picaresque saga about three cons on the run in 1930s
Mississippi.
� Of Mice and Men (1992)
Two drifters, one a gentle but slow giant, try to make
money working the fields during the Depression so
they can fulfill their dreams.
The Official Story (1985) (R)
The collision of middle-class aspirations and
government lies in Argentina

� Once Upon a Time When We Were Colored (1996)
A narrator tells the story of his childhood years in a
tightly knit Afro-American community in the deep
south under racial segregation.
� One Flew Over the Cukoo’s Nest (1975) (R)
A man sent to a mental hospital finds the head nurse a
lot more dangerous than the other patients.
� One True Thing (1998)
A career woman reassesses her parents' lives after she
is forced to care for her cancer-stricken mother.
� Ordinary People (1980) (R)
Oscar Best Picture. Beth, Calvin, and their son Conrad
are living in the aftermath of the death of the other
son..
The Ox Bow Incident (1943)
Two drifters are passing through a Western town,
when news comes in that a local farmer has been
murdered and his cattle stolen.
�☺ Pay it Forward (2000)
A young boy attempts to make the world a better
place.
� Philadelphia (1993)
When a man with AIDS is fired by a conservative law
firm because of his condition, he hires a homophobic
small time lawyer as the only willing advocate for a
wrongful dismissal suit..
� Pleasantville (1998)
1990s kids transported back into the sanitized world
of 1950s sitcoms
� The Power of One (1992)
A man raised in an African orphanage uses boxing to
bring education and fight apartheid in South Africa.
� The Quiet Room (1997)
Alittle girl becomes so tired and freaked out by her
parents fighting that she decides not to speak.
A Raisin in the Sun (1961)
An African American family in Chicagostruggles with
mixed aspirations, not enough money, conflicts over
religion, and institutional racism.
�☺ A Rat’s Tale (1998) (G)
When two young rats from different socio-economic
levels meet, their true love must endure adventures,
family disputes and the discovery of their own
strengths before their life together can begin.
� Reds (1981) (PG)
The story of John Reed andf Louise Bryant. See book,
"The Education of John Reed.".
�☺ Remember the Titans (2000)
The true story of an newly appointed African-
American coach and his high school team on their first
season as a racially integrated unit.
� Roger and Me (1989) (R)
When a General Motors plant closes in Flint, MI,
Michael Moore tries to track down GM chariman
Roger B. Smith for an interview.
�Romeo and Juliet (1999)
Shakespeare's tragic tale about two young lovers and
their warring families
��Romero (1989)
Vivid biography of Archbishop Oscar Romero of El
Salvador, who stood up for social justice and
nonviolence.
�Rosewood (1997) (R)
Fact-based story of two neighboring Florida towns,
circa 1922-23, and the festering racism that threatens
to explode into violence and destroy a law-abiding
Black community.
☺Ruby Bridges (1998)
Disney movie about desegregation in the 1960s
� Sadat (1989)
A real-life, flawed, human who overcame a whole
world of prejudice, somehow, in order to help change
our world.
� Salt of the Earth (1954) (NR)
Based on an actual strike against the Empire Zinc
Mine in New Mexico, the film deals with the prejudice
against the Mexican-American workers, who struck
to attain wage parity with Anglo workers in other
mines and to be treated with dignity by the bosses.
Salvador (1986) (R)
True-life account of the violent civil war in El
Salvador.
� Sarafina! (1992)
A bright young student who is inspired by her teacher
(Whoopi Goldberg) to dream of a better tomorrow in
South Africa.
�☺ Sarah Plain and Tall (1991) (G)
A bright young student who is inspired by her teacher
(Whoopi Goldberg) to dream of a better tomorrow in
South Africa.
Savior (1998) (R)
Based on true accounts of the early '90s ethnic
clashes between Serbia and neighboring states.
� Schindler’s List (R) (1993)
Steven Spielberg’s masterpiece about Catholic war
profiteer Oskar Schindler ,who risked his life and
went bankrupt to save more than 1,000 Jews from
certain death in concentration camps.
For more information: peaceCENTER, 1443 S. St. Mary’s, San Antonio, TX 78210
(210) 224-HOPE www.salsa.net/peace/popcorn

�☺ Secret of NIMH (1982) (G)
To save her invalid son, a field mouse must seek the
aid of a colony of super-intelligent rats.
� Separate But Equal (1991)
About Thurgood Marshall's arguing the historic
Brown vs. Board of Education case in 1954.
�Serving in Silence (1995)
The true story of a decorated officer's legal challenge
to her involuntary discharge when she admitted she
was homosexual.
�Seven Years in Tibet (1995)
An Australian mountaineer/adventurer is selfish and
arrogant--until he learns humility in Tibet.
� Shadowlands (1993)
British writer C. S. Lewis comfortable if rigid life as an
Oxford don in the 1950s is shaken by his meeting with
a forthright American poet, Joy Gresham.
� Shadrach (1998)
In 1935, 99-year-old former slave Shadrach asks to be
buried on the soil where he was born to slavery.
� The Shawshank Redemption (1994)
Straight-arrow banker Robbins is railroaded for a
double murder and sent to prison for life in the late
1940s.
� ☺ Shrek (2001) (PG)
A reclusive ogre and a chatterbox donkey go on a
quest to rescue a princess for a tyrannical midget lord.
� Silkwood (1983) (R)
The story of Karen Silkwood, a nuclear reactor worker
who might have been murdered to prevent her expose
of wrongdoing at the power plant.
� ☺ The Simpson’s Christmas Special (1989) (NR)
The Simpsons discover the true meaning of
Christmas..
� Skokie (1981)
How a town became embroiled in a bitter controversy
while trying to prevent street demonstrations by neo-
Nazis in 1977.
� Sophie’s Choice (1982) (R)
A Polish woman's attempt to justify her existence in
America after surviving a living hell during WWII.
� Smoke Signals (1988) (PG-13)
A Polish woman's attempt to justify her existence in
America after surviving a living hell during WWII
� A Soldier’s Story (1984) (PG)
Brilliantly intense adaptation of the Charles Fuller
play about internal conflicts among black soliders. in
WWII Louisana.
�☺Sounder (1972)
A family of Black sharecroppers in Louisiana in 1933,
face a serious family crisis when the husband and
father is convicted of a petty crime and sent to a
prison camp.
�Spitfire Grill (1972)
Upon being released from prison, a young woman
goes to the small town of Gillead, to find a place where
she can start over again.
�Stigmata (1999) (R)
A vatican priest is assigned to investigate a young
American who appears to be afflicted with stigmata.
� Strawberry Fields (1997)
A young woman traces her family’s history in Japanese
internment camps during WWII.
� The Straight Story (1993) (G)
73-year-old man takes a six week trip to mend his
relationship with his older brother, who is ill.
� Stranger in the Kingdom (1998) (R)
A Vermont town in the 1950’s hires a new minister
based on his war record and capable presentation, but
then are shocked when he shows up and is a black
man.
�☺ Stuart Little(1999) (PG)
The adventures of a heroic and debonair stalwart
mouse named Stuart Little with human qualities, who
faces some comic misadventures while searching for
his lost bird friend and living with a human family as
their child.
�Such a Long Journey (1998) (NR)
The story revolves around a Parsi family in Bombay
around the time of the India-Pakistan war that resulted
in the creation of Bangladesh.
�Sudie and Simpson (1990) (NR)
A white girl befriends a reclusive black man in 1940s
Georgia.
� Tea With Mussolini (1999)
A story of civilized disobedience; a group of
expatriate women in WWII Italy think they are under
the protection of Il Duce.
� Testament (1983)
Story of one family's attempt to survive in the
aftermath of a nuclear war.
For more information: peaceCENTER, 1443 S. St. Mary’s, San Antonio, TX 78210
(210) 224-HOPE www.salsa.net/peace/popcorn

� Twentyfour Seven (1997)
An idealistic 1980s burnout tries to encourage the
aimless, angry young men in his working-class
English town by setting up a boxing club.
� Ulee’s Gold (1997) (R)
A reclusive beekeeper slowly pulls his dysfunctional
family back together..
� Wag the Dog (1997)
Before elections, a spin-doctor and a Hollywood
producer join efforts to fabricate a war in order to
cover-up a presidential sex scandal.
�☺ The War (1994) (PG-13)
A Vietnam veteran in 1970s Mississippi attempts to
teach his kids tolerance and peaceful ways when
they're being bullied.
� The War at Home (1996) (R)
TV movie about a middle-class family's helplessness
in the wake of a son's agony on his return from
Vietnam
� The Whales of August (1987) (NR)
Two elderly sisters (Bette Davis and Lillian Gish) have
to decide whether to give up their family home in
Main, their independence and life together.
� What the Deaf Man Heard (1997)
A traumatized boy refuses to speak and is thought to
be deaf until 26 years later he speaks out against
embezzlement of church funds.
� White Man’s Burden (1995) (R)
Imagines an America where black people are the ruling
class and whites are underprivileged minorities.
� The White Rose (1982)
Student resistance in Nazi Germany.
�☺ Whitewash (1995)
Animated film explores intolerance.
� The Winslow Boy (1948)
In pre-WW1 England, a youngster is expelled from a
naval academy over a petty theft, but his parents raise
a political furor by demanding a trial.
� Wit (2001)
Eloquent and deeply moving struggle for dignity,
meaning, and peace at life's ultimate crossroads.
during the painful death of a college English
professor.
� Went to Coney Island on a Mission from God . . be
Back by Five (1998)
Two 30-something friends go to Coney Island to look
for a childhood buddy who is reported to be mentally
ill and living under the boardwalk.
� Winstanley (1974)
About Gerrard Winstanley and the counter-culture
Diggers in the mid 1600s.
� Witness (1985)
A young Amish boy is sole witness to a murder;
policeman goes into hiding in Amish country to
protect him until the trial.
�☺ The Wizard of Oz (1939)
Dorothy Gale is swept away to a magical land in a
tornado and embarks on a quest to see the Wizard
who can help her return home.
� World Apart (1989) (PG)
This true story reveals the world of apartheid South
Africa through the eyes of the daughter of prominent
anti-apartheid activists.
For more information: peaceCENTER, 1443 S. St. Mary’s, San Antonio, TX 78210
(210) 224-HOPE www.salsa.net/peace/popcorn

Mississippi Burning (1988)
Runtime: 128 minutes
Rating R
Historical Background:
Civil Rights workers Michael Schwerner and Andrew
Goodman, both white New Yorkers, went to Philadelphia,
Mississippi in 1964 as volunteers with CORE, the
Congress on Racial Equality, to aid in the registration of
African-American voters as part of the Mississippi
“Freedom Summer” Project. They and fellow volunteer
James Chaney, an African American from Mississippi,
disappeared on the evening of June 21. The FBI recovered
their bodies, which had been buried in an earthen dam, 44
days later. The case was solved by paying a $30,000 bribe
to a Klan informant. The Neshoba County deputy sheriff
and 16 others, all Ku Klux Klan members, were indicted
for the crime; seven were convicted. This was a crucial
turning point in the civil rights struggle which led up to
the Voting Rights Act of 1965.
About the rating:
The R rating is for racist and crude language and for
violence (shootings, beatings, lynching, burning, torture.)
Why this film was selected:
It is hard for people who did not live through the 1960s to
believe that such hatred, violence and racism existed in
this country less than 40 years ago. Some critics have
complained that the film depicts the action as being led by
crusading white law-enforcement personnel on behalf of a
herd of meek, passive, helpless blacks, and it has also been
criticized for glorifying violent FBI tactics at the expense
of the nonviolence advocated by Dr. King. Despite its
flaws, Mississippi Burning starkly brings home the horror
of the South in 1964.
Recommended excerpts for showing:
1. Bombing of black churches.
(minute 35:00 to 44:00 -- 9 minutes)
(Begin with the FBI agents wading across the swamp)
After finding the abandoned car of the three missing civil
rights workers, the FBI calls in reinforcements to search
the swamps for their bodies. In retaliation, the Ku Klux
Klan burns several black churches. A young boy speaks at
a meeting at a firebombed church and explains that they
are crusading for respect and dignity. Several white
citizens, including the Sheriff, maintain that it is all a hoax.
The film:
Set in the same year that Martin Luther King received his
Nobel Peace Prize, the film is a fictionalized account of a
true story, the murder of black activist James Chaney and
white colleagues Andrew Goodman and Mickey Schwerner,
three young civil rights workers who were part of a voter
registration drive in Mississippi.
�2. KKK invades black church, media
interviews. (minute 53:30 to 60:00 - 6.5 minutes)
(Begin with the church service) A black church service is in
progress; the KKK interrupts it and beats up several of the
worshippers, including a young boy identified as a troublemaker.
Followed by interviews with the media where most
white citizens express feelings that blacks are subhuman.
3. House burning, trial:
(minute 117:05 to 123:00 - 6 minutes)
(Begin with the boy in the chicken coop) The KKK burns a
house and a young boy, tending his chickens, is a witness.
A friend convinces him to help the FBI. He identifies the
perpetrators, who go to trial and are let off with a suspended
sentence by a sympathetic judge.
Suggested discussion questions:
1. Guided by Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., and other
practitioners of nonviolence, the African-American people
in the South did not meet violence with more violence.
What is the difference between being nonviolent and being
meek and passive? What do you think might have happened
if the black people in Mississippi had started burning down
white churches, or lynching white people?
2. People died and suffered countless hardships and
indignities to gain African-Americans in the South the right
to vote. Yet in the 1998 elections, less than 30% of the
eligible voters in Mississippi cast their ballots (compared to
just under 40% nationwide and only 27% in Texas.) Was is
worth it? Why are civil rights, including voting, important?
3. What things have changed for the better in civil rights
since 1964? What things have stayed the same? Have some
things become worse?
4. Have you ever spoke out for something you believed in,
even when other people got angry with you? What did it
feel like? Looking back on your own experience, would
you have done anything differently?
For more information: peaceCENTER, 1443 S. St. Mary’s, San Antonio, TX 78210
(210) 224-HOPE www.salsa.net/peace/popcorn

Gandhi (1982)
Runtime: 188 minutes
Rating PG
Historical Background:
True story based on the life of Mohandas Gandhi. The
form of nonviolence practiced by Gandhi is called
Satyagraha, a combination of satya (truth-love) and agraha
(firmness/force). It is the “the vindication of truth not by
infliction of suffering on the opponent but on one’s self .”
Satyagraha is peaceful. Opponents must be converted by a
demonstration of purity, humility, and honesty. They are
to be converted — not annihilated. Violence, Gandhi said,
creates bitterness in the victim, and brutality in the
attacker. Satyagraha assumes there is a constant dialogue
between the opponents with a view to ultimate reconciliation.
Insults, threats, and propaganda only serve to
obstruct the goal.
About the rating:
Although rated PG, some of the episodes where the
Indians clash with the British may be disturbing.
Why this film was selected:
Gandhi is a masterpiece, a loving tribute to a saintly man.
It has been criticized for this very reason - making a saint
of Gandhi. Critics also have complained that it elevates his
role in Indian independence at the expense of others,
particularly Jinnah, the founder of Pakistan.
Recommended excerpt for showing:
Gandhi is the best movie available to learn and teach
nonviolence. Despite its three-hour length, it is well worth
trying to show the entire film. If time is short, the following
excerpt is recommended:
� Salt March.
(tape 2, minute 10:30 - 25:20 - 15 minutes)
(Begin with the British uttering the word Salt) The British
learn that Gandhi plans to march to the sea and make salt,
in defiance of British law, which controls and taxes salt
production. They decide to ignore him. In talking to a
journalist, Gandhi explains that the purpose of civil
disobedience is to provoke a reaction and they will
provoke until the British react. Hundreds of thousands of
Indians begin making and selling their own salt in open
defiance. The British arrest thousands of Indians. Gandhi
The film:
Biography of Mohandas Gandhi, who developed and
introduced the doctrine of nonviolent resistance to the
colonized people of India and who ultimately gained the
nation its independence. Directed by Richard Attenborough
and starring Ben Kingsley as Gandhi. Eight Oscars.
declares his intention to lead a peaceful takeover of a salt
works and is arrested on the eve of the action. The British
brutally club the Indians as they nonviolently and relentlessly
attempt to enter the salt works. A journalist reports
that the naked brutality displayed by the British guaranteed
Indian victory.
Discussion Questions
1. Would nonviolence as practiced by Gandhi have any
affect upon a dictator like Hitler, Saddam Hussein or
Slobadan Milosivic? Why or why not?
2. Satyagraha maintains that opponents must be converted
by demonstrations of purity, honesty and humility. Can you
think of ways that this could be used in your own life to
diffuse potentially violent situations?
3. Gandhi called his autobiography “The Story of My
Experiments with Truth.” What do you think he meant by
this?
4. What role did the media play in Gandhi’s version of
nonviolence? Would his actions had the same effect 50
years before, when there were no newsreels or radio
broadcasts?
5. During the salt march the Indians broke the British law
against making salt. What is the difference between civil
disobedience and ordinary law breaking?
6. Gandhi lived a live of great simplicity, dressing in a
loincloth, eating little, living communally and sharing the
common chores (such as toilet cleaning.) Why do you think
he lived this way? Are nonviolence and simple living in
some way linked?
For more information: peaceCENTER, 1443 S. St. Mary’s, San Antonio, TX 78210
(210) 224-HOPE www.salsa.net/peace/popcorn

Cry Freedom (1987)
Runtime: 157 minutes
Rating PG
Historical Background:
In 1948 the white government of South Africa instituted
Apartheid, laws to separate the races and maintain white
supremacy. Black South Africans lost their citizenship,
were assigned to remote “homelands” and had to carry
demeaning passes. Steve Bantu Biko (1946-1976) founded
the Black Consciousness Movement, based on his philosophy
that political freedom could only be achieved if blacks
stopped feeling inferior to whites. BCM came into its own
in the mid 1970s, when many African National Congress
(ANC) leaders, including Nelson Mandela, were in jail or
exile. The government “banned” Biko in 1973, restricting
his movements and preventing him from being quoted in
public. In August, 1977 he was taken into police custody
and died several days later. The South African government
tried to cover it up. South Africa's first democratic election,
held in 1994, resulted in a Government of National Unity
(GNU) led by ANC leader Nelson Mandela. The five
policemen involved in Biko’s death have sought amnesty
from the Truth and Reconciliation Commission, established
to “enable South Africans to come to terms with their past
on a morally accepted basis and to advance the cause of
reconciliation."
About the rating:
Rated PG, there is some vulgar language. At the end of the
film white police brutally fire into a peaceable demonstration
of school children.
Why this film was selected:
Cry Freedom has been criticized for telling the story of
Black struggle against apartheid through the eyes of a
white liberal editor. However, the scenes of life in South
Africa under apartheid excellent. Black South Africans also
felt slighted that an American actor was chosen to play the
role of Biko.
Recommended excerpts for showing:
1. First half of the film.
(minute 00:00 to 1:22:40 -- 1 hour 22 min.)
(End at conclusion of Biko’s funeral) Show this much, if
there is time; feel free to skip over the second half of the
film, of the white editor’s escape.
The film:
A white newspaper editor (Kevin Kline) befriends South
African Black political activist Steve Biko (Denzel Washington.)
When Biko is beaten to death by the police, the editor
writes a book exposing the government and has to escape
the country with his family to get it published. Directed by
David Attenborough.
.�2. Tour of the Black Townships.
(minute 21:50 - 30:15 - 8.5 minutes)
(Begin with Biko getting prepared for the tour) Biko and
some friends take the liberal editor on a tour of the Black
townships, showing the effects of apartheid and discussing
their approach to ending it.
3. Court Scene.
(minute 38:25 - 42:45 - 4.5 minutes)
(Begin with Biko in the dock) While testifying at a trial of a
friend, Biko explains his philosophy to the judge and jury.
4. Biko’s Funeral.
(minute 1:16:40 - 1:22:40 - 6 minutes)
(Begin with people assembling for funeral)
Suggested discussion questions:
1. During the tour of the townships, Biko and his friends
describe the current society as one where they are only
“invited to the table” if they learn how to “play by the white
master’s rules.” They envision a society where everyone
participates equally in society on their own cultural terms.
What would it look like if everyone had their own place at
the table in this country, or in your school, workplace or
place of worship?
2. Biko has been called “the greatest martyr to apartheid.”
What is a martyr? What other martyrs have you heard of?
What role do they play in peace and justice?
3. The South African government “banned” Steve Biko,
and did not let him speak or be quoted in public. In the
U.S., where the constitution guarantees free speech, we
have generally taken the view that public debate lets the
truth emerge in a free interchange of ideas. Do you think
people should be permitted to speak out against their
government?
4. The Truth and Reconciliation Commission in currentday
South Africa has identified the policemen who murdered
Steve Biko. If you were Mrs. Biko, could you
forgive them? What does it mean to forgive and to reconcile
yourself to past abuses so that people can live together
in harmony?
For more information: peaceCENTER, 1443 S. St. Mary’s, San Antonio, TX 78210
(210) 224-HOPE www.salsa.net/peace/popcorn

Judgment at Nuremberg
(1961)
Runtime: 186 minutes
Rating NR
Historical Background:
The Nuremberg Tribunals prosecuted three types of
offenses: crimes against peace (waging aggressive war);
war crimes (violations of the laws of war ) and crimes
against humanity (including genocide and operating slave
labor camps). The former Nazis claimed that they were
acting under orders and, since they had violated no written
laws, they could not be punished. The Nuremberg judges
rejected this on the basis that the actions of the defendants
were so atrocious that it was obvious that they were
criminal. Those prosecuted in the Nuremberg trials
included doctors who had experimented on inmates and
prisoners of war, judges who condemned innocent people
to death or imprisonment, industrialists who profited from
slave labor, and concentration camp administrators.
About the rating:
Not rated. There is some horrifying historical footage from
the concentration camps on the second tape.
Why this film was selected:
Most of this film is talk, rather than action and some may
find it boring but it is a brilliant discussion of personal
responsibility. Made in 1961 when WWII was still a fresh
memory, some of the subtle historical allusions may need
explaining to a younger audience.
Recommended excerpts for showing:
.�1. Concentration Camp footage.
(2nd tape, minute 11:07 to 21:06 -- 10 min.)
(Start with “Your honor, I offer...) Prosecutor Col.
Lawson puts the judges’ actions into perspective then
shows footage of the concentration camps.
2. Herr Janning’s defense.
(2nd tape, minute 45:10 - 53:40 - 8.5 min.)
(Begin with ”Herr Janning, you may proceed”) Herr
Janning admits guilt and describes the conditions in
Germany that led to Nazism.
3. Rolfe’s condemnation of “collaborators”.
(2nd tape, minute 54:50 - 58:10 - 3.5 min.)
(Begin with “Your honor, it is my duty to defend..”) The
The film:
A panel of American judges conducts a trial of four German
judges charged with crimes against humanity during the Nazi
regime. All-star cast including Spencer Tracy, Burt
Lancaster, Richard Widmark, Maximillian Schell, Marlene
Dietrich, Judy Garland and a young William Shatner.
defense attorney maintains that everyone is to blame for the
Nazi atrocities.
4. Judge Haywood’s summation.
(2nd tape, minute 1:10:25 - 1:19:45 - 8.5 min.)
(Begin with “This tribunal is now in session.”)
Suggested discussion questions:
1. Judges who refused to swear a loyalty oath and wear the
swatzika on their robes lost their jobs. Is it possible to
work within an evil or corrupt system? Is there a point
where that is no longer the honorable thing to do?
2. The defense attorney ultimately argued that everyone
was guilty, from the Germans who voted Hitler into
power, to American industrialists who profited from the
Third Reich. What purpose was served by bringing to trial
a few hundred of the top officials?
3. What kind of responsibility does each of us have for our
own actions? Is “following orders” a legitimate excuse to
do wrong? How do we decide what is right and wrong?
4. Judge Haywood said , "If these murderers were
monsters, this event would have no more moral
significance than an earthquake." What did he mean? Do
you agree?
5. Herr Janning argued that the crisis in Germany made
supposedly temporary measures that subverted justice seem
necessary. Do you agree that civil liberties can be suspended
for the good of the nation? How does this argument
apply to the anticommunist McCarthy hearings in the
1950s?
6. How does this model differ from the “Truth and Reconciliation”
model used in South Africa?
For more information: peaceCENTER, 1443 S. St. Mary’s, San Antonio, TX 78210
(210) 224-HOPE www.salsa.net/peace/popcorn

Romero
(1989)
Runtime: 105 min.
Rating PG-13
Historical Background:
El Salvador, the smallest but most densely populated country
in Central America, was ruled by a cruel military dictators for
most of the 20 th century. In the 1970s, as the oppression
worsened and poverty and human rights abuses increased,
many began to raise their voices against the violence and repression.
Some of these voices came from the clergy of the
Roman Catholic Church. Empowered by Liberation Theology,
the belief that God sides with the poor and that Jesus is
a prime model of both a spiritual and a political revolutionary,
many priests began advocating for social reform and joining
forces with poor and/or indigenous revolutionary groups.
Bishop Romero was not among those voices until his dear
friend, Father Rutilio Grande, was assassinated for his radical
views and activities. From that point onward, Romero
preached and worked for the rights of the poor and oppressed.
About the rating: PG-13 rating is for violence.
Why this film was selected:
The U.S. has a long relationship with our southern neighbors
in the Western Hemisphere, though little media attention is
paid to their struggles. Learning about Latin American politics
can help us understand the pain of oppression—oppression
that U.S. foreign policy has played a part in—and the
radical Liberation Theology that many contemporary U.S.
theologians have drawn from in dealing with our own problems
of poverty and human rights abuses. Primarily, however,
it is important to learn about the peaceful, nonviolent
movements that many Latin Americans were involved in, since
U.S. media attention generally focuses on the violent “guerillas.”
This film is a wonderful story of the power of love and
nonviolence.
Recommended excerpts for showing:
1. Taking back the church, the power of the church
(minute 56:10-68:47 – 12 min. 47 sec.)
After releasing his friend, Father Osuna, from the prison where
he was tortured, Romero goes to visit President-Elect General
Carlos Humberto Romero to discuss the repression of
the church. The clip proceeds to Aguilares (where Father
Rutilio Grande ministered until his assassination) and we witness
the occupation of the town and the church and Bishop
Romero’s courageous act of taking back the sanctuary.
The film:
A biographical account of the last three years of Archbishop Oscar
Adulfo Romero of El Salvador’s life. Beginning just before his appointment
to Archbishop in 1977 and ending just after his death in 1980, the
film traces the events that transformed this scholarly moderate, chosen
for his ability to compromise, into a nonviolent revolutionary martyr for
the human rights of El Salvador’s poor and oppressed.
.�2. Events leading up to Romero’s assassination
(minute 89:14-103:00 – 13 min. 46 sec.)
After Father Osuna is killed in prison, Bishop Romero visits
Osuna’s closest friend, Father Morantes. Morantes is now
carrying a gun, and he and Romero discuss the use of violence
to affect change. This clip includes a montage of
speeches, events and pictures depicting the politics of the
rich, Romero’s ministry, pictures of the “Disappeared” political
prisoners kidnapped and/or killed by the El Salvadoran
government, and the plot to assassinate the Archbishop. The
film ends shortly after his martyrdom.
Suggested discussion questions:
1. Liberation theology has been accused of being revolutionary
and of stirring people to violence. Though many believers
in the theology of liberation waged nonviolent conflict, it
is true that many guerilla fighters throughout Latin America
have used the Hebrew prophets and the radical teachings of
Jesus to justify their violence. Can revolutionary violence
meant to liberate the oppressed be justified? What nonviolent
means can be used to liberate the poor?
2. The U.S. has been criticized for its role in Latin American
politics. Bishop Romero wrote to the President to ask him
to stop sending arms to the El Salvadoran military, as they
were only used to kill the oppressed people of the country.
What can and/or should the U.S. military/government/people
do to help the oppressed peoples of the world?
3. The church and the Eucharist (communion) are powerful
themes and symbols throughout the film. Archbishop Romero
and the people of Aguilares showed great courage in taking
back their sanctuary at the risk of being fired upon. How
powerful/meaningful are communities of faith in the U.S.?
What spaces/institutions are meaningful to you? What would
be important enough to you and from where would you draw
the kind of courage it would take to walk unarmed into a line
of armed men?
4. Romero believes—like most liberation theologians—that
the church is the people and that its role is to side with the
oppressed and to work for liberation. (See Matt. 5:1-12,
Luke 1:52-53, and Luke 4:16-19) Do you agree? What
do you see as the mission of the church? How can it live
out this mission?
Guide prepared by Jay McDivitt, peaceCENTER intern, Luther College
For more information: peaceCENTER, 1443 S. St. Mary’s, San Antonio, TX 78210
(210) 224-HOPE www.salsa.net/peace/popcorn

Erin Brockovich
(2000)
Runtime: 132 min
Rating: R
Historical Background:
In 1952, Pacific Gas & Electric opened its Hinkley Compressor
Station as part of the pipeline system that brings
southwest natural gas to PG&E’s service area in route from
California to Texas. At the same time, they began dumping
million of gallons of wastewater from their cooling system
into unlined ponds on the facility property. The cooling
water contained hexavalent chromium (chromium 6), which
subsequently contaminated both the ambient air and the
local groundwater supply to a chromium 6 level 400 times
the EPA’s safety standard. By 1987, the residents of the
high desert town of Hinkley, California, who had been
breathing, ingesting, and absorbing the toxin for decades,
developed a wide range of physical illnesses, including
cancer, respiratory problems, and skin diseases. The
investigation begun by Erin Brockovich led to the biggest
settlement on record for a civil class action lawsuit..
About the rating: R rating is exclusively for
language.
Why this film was selected:
This film addresses two issues in American life: Big
business and the American Dream. First — Big business,
which has enjoyed a long, fruitful, and powerful life in
America, often expresses a lack of compassion for both
employees and customers. Second — the American dream
— to be educated, employed, married with children, and in
your own home — is just that, a dream. If all people can
really count on is to be deceived by the individuals and
companies claiming to help them, what hope is there? This
film is a triumph of the human spirit — the story of one
woman with no hope and no way who challenges the
system. Her courage, determination, and compassion show
us what is possible when human beings care for each other.
Recommended excerpts for showing:
1. The job interview
(Opening scene: 3 minutes)
Erin Brokovich, a provocatively dressed, attractive
young woman interviews unsuccessfully for a job as a
medical assistant.
The film: Based on the true story of Erin Brockovich, a desperate
out-of-work mother of three who convinces a lawyer to hire her and then
stumbles upon a monumental law case against a huge corporation.
Fueled by a desire to provide for her family and an ever-growing
compassion for the unsuspecting victims of a grave social injustice, the
unlikely Brockovich triumphs over the modern paradigms of social
norms, etiquette, and professional qualifications.
2. Begging for a job
(Minute 10:00 - 16:00: 6 minutes)
After several failed attempts to find work and several
attempts to contact her former lawyer, Ed Masry, Erin
takes matters into her own hands. She demands
employment and asks for an advance on her salary.
3. PG&E’s First Offer
(Minute 50:00-55:00: 5 minutes)
After Masry faxes the first of his claims to the PG&E
legal department, PG&E sends a lawyer to make an
offer on the Jensen’s property near the PG&E plant in
Hinkley. The $28 billion corporation offers the Jensen’s
$250,000.
4. PG&E’s Second Offer
(Minute 86:00-91:00: 5 minutes. Begin with clip of
Jensen throwing rocks toward the PG&E plant.)
The Jensens learn Donna’s cancer is malignant. PG&E
lawyers offer Hinkley residents $20 million to settle out
of court. Erin is enraged and tells them off.
Suggested discussion questions:
1. What effect do dress and demeanor have on a person’s
ability to perform well on the job? What qualifies
someone to do a job? Does society have any particular
responsibility to single women raising a family?
2. In the film, PG&E headquarters in San Francisco
makes decisions affecting company operations in
Hinkley, California, more than 300 miles away.
Speculate upon the size and nature of huge companies.
How many levels of management do you suppose
there are? Who deals with the money? Who deals with
the customers? Who deals with local, state, and federal
regulations? How might the organization of such a
company breed a lack of concern for people — both
employees of the company and customers?
3. Notice how preconceived notions based upon appearance
and behavior affect the characters’ attitudes and
actions toward one another. Is this interpretation valid?
How have you seen prejudices and preconceived ideas
about people influence behavior?
Guide prepared by Laura Holck, peaceCENTER
For more information: peaceCENTER, 1443 S. St. Mary’s, San Antonio, TX 78210
(210) 224-HOPE www.salsa.net/peace/popcorn

Movie Rating System
G-GENERAL:
Appropriate for all ages. This is a film containing
nothing which would be offensive to
parents. There are no strong words or sex scenes;
there is no nudity or drug content and violence is
at a minimum.
PG-PARENTAL GUIDANCE:
Parental guidance suggested, contains some
material not suitable for children. There may be
some profanity and some violence. There is no
drug use or explicit sex.
PG-13:
Parents are strongly cautioned that some
material is unsuitable for children under 13. Drug
use would require this rating, as would the single
use of a sexually-derived expletive.
R - RESTRICTED:
Anyone under the age of 17 will require an
accompanying adult or adult guardian. May include
hard language, drug use, tough violence,
nudity within sexual scenes and the use of more
than one expletive.
NC-17:
No one 17 and under admitted